Apparatus and method for channel access

Abstract

A channel access method and apparatus are disclosed. The channel access method by an access point (AP) having a sector antenna in a wireless local access network (WLAN), may include transmitting a sector beacon with respect to any one sector among a plurality of sectors, transmitting and receiving data with at least one station in any one sector during a pre-scheduled sector interval, sequentially performing transmission of the sector beacon and transmission and reception of the data with respect to remaining sectors of the plurality of sectors excluding the any one sector, transmitting an omni beacon with respect to all of the plurality of sectors, and transmitting and receiving data with respect to at least one station of the plurality of sectors during a pre-scheduled Basic Service Set (BSS) interval.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method by an access point (AP) for supporting a fast sector discovery of at least one station (STA) in a wireless local access network (WLAN), the method comprising:
 transmitting, using an antenna, at least one No Data Protocol (NDP) type frame for sector training, wherein each of the at least one NDP type frame includes a Short Training Field (STF) field, a Long Training Field (LTF) field, and a Signal (SIG) field without a Data field; and 
 receiving, from a STA, a feedback frame including a sector identification (ID) indicating a sector selected by the STA, 
 wherein the at least one NDP type frame is transmitted in a sector training type restricted access window (RAW), and 
 wherein the sector training type RAW is distinguished from other types of RAW including a general type RAW for general data transmission. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a request for sector training from the STA, 
 wherein the at least one NDP type frame is transmitted in response to the request. 
 
     
     
       3. A method by a station (STA) for a fast sector discovery in a wireless local access network (WLAN), the method comprising:
 receiving, from an access point (AP), at least one No Data Protocol (NDP) type frame for sector training, wherein each of the at least one NDP type frame includes a Short Training Field (STF) field, a Long Training Field (LTF) field, and a signal field (SIG) without a Data field; and 
 transmitting, to the AP, a feedback frame including a sector identification (ID) indicating a sector selected by the STA, 
 wherein the at least one NDP type frame is received in a sector training type restricted access window (RAW), and 
 wherein the sector training type RAW is distinguished from other types of RAW including a general type RAW for general data transmission. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 transmitting a request for sector training, 
 wherein the at least one NDP type frame is received in response to the request. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, when the at least one NDP type frame is a plurality of NDP type frames that are transmitted in the sector training RAW, the plurality of NDP type frames are consecutively transmitted and separated by a Short Inter Frame Spacing (SIFS). 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, when the at least one NDP type frame is a plurality of NDP type frames that are transmitted in the sector training RAW, the plurality of NDP type frames correspond to sector IDs in ascending order starting with a lowest sector ID. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting a confirmation in response to the feedback frame. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the SIG field of the at least one NDP type frame includes an address of the AP. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein information on a time position and a type of the sector training RAW is included in a beacon transmitted by the AP. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sector training RAW is a periodic RAW. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the feedback frame is protected by a reporting type RAW, and the reporting type RAW is indicated by a beacon for the fast sector discovery. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 3 , wherein, when the at least one NDP type frame is a plurality of NDP type frames that are received in the sector training RAW, the plurality of NDP type frames are consecutively received and separated by a Short Inter Frame Spacing (SIFS). 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 3 , wherein, when the at least one NDP type frame is a plurality of NDP type frames that are received in the sector training RAW, the plurality of NDP type frames correspond to sector IDs in ascending order starting with a lowest sector ID. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 receiving a confirmation in response to the feedback frame. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the SIG field of the at least one NDP type frame includes an address of the AP. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 3 , wherein information on a time position and a type of the sector training RAW is included in a beacon received from the AP. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the sector training RAW is a periodic RAW. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the feedback frame is protected by a reporting type RAW. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the reporting type RAW is indicated by a beacon for the fast sector discovery. 
     
     
       20. An apparatus for a station (STA) for a fast sector discovery in a wireless local access network (WLAN), the apparatus comprising:
 a transmitter; 
 a receiver; and 
 a processor, 
 wherein the processor is configured to: 
 receive, using the receiver, from an access point (AP), at least one No Data Protocol (NDP) type frame for sector training, wherein each of the at least one NDP type frame includes a Short Training Field (STF) field, a Long Training Field (LTF) field, a Signal (SIG) field without a Data field; and 
 transmitting, using the transmitter, to the AP, a feedback frame including a sector identification (ID) indicating a sector selected by the STA, 
 wherein the at least one NDP type frame is received in a sector training type restricted access window (RAW), and 
 wherein the sector training type RAW is distinguished from other types of RAW including a general type RAW for general data transmission.